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VGR

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Everything posted by VGR

  1. Toyota has a 40 year track record of building overhead cam engines with long timing chains that don't break. Long before a Toyota chain breaks it will rattle loudly which warns the driver the chain tensioner isn't working anymore and needs to be replaced. Two reasons Toyota is switching to timing chains in its newest engine designs are: 1. All it's engines now have variable valve timing which means the valves and pistons will collide and self destruct if the timing belt breaks. Since chains don't break, this catastropic potential problem can be avoided. 2. Toyota Timing chains are maintenance free and very rarely ever need to be replaced. Notice I am constantly specifying TOYOTA timing chains. Those of you who read and learn about timing chains vs timing belts on internet websites or in automotive textbooks need to realize your getting only generic information, not Toyota specific inforrmation. Big difference
  2. Sounds like someone installed aftermarket brake pads at some point. Genuine Toyota brake pads are low dust, long wearing and minimize brake rotor wear. You can order them from newlexusparts.com and irontoad.com for FRONT PADS, RX300 99-03 $49.77 REAR PADS, RX300 99-03 $48.31 You don't pay sales tax so that offsets most of the shipping cost.
  3. I'd use the 90915-YZZB9 Denso's because they are factory quality filters. The latest Denso filter for the ES300 / 330 is the 90915-YZZD1 Horror stories abound on the internet of owners who took risks by using aftermarket oil filters. Here are two examples: http://t4x4pickup.com/dgroup/messages/324.html Posted by Scotty on June 11, 2005 at 02:54:32: Aloha dudes and duddettes, My gf's 2005 SR5 4Runner V6 engine is all messed up cause I put in a wrong oil filter and she just ran it to the ground. Any case the Toyota dealer wanted $18,000.00 to replace the engine. Is there anywhere else I could go to get a rebuilt (replacement) '05 Toyota engine? Any help is appreciated. Thank you very much, Scotty -------------------------------------------------------------------- http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...&st=0&p=135225& Hi everyone, I own a 96 ES300 with 97k miles. I had a problem yesterday while I was changing my oil. After I finished, I cranked up and I'd say about 4 quarts gushed out from the filter. Needless to say, it was defective.
  4. I don't believe internet forums like this one represent a good cross section of RX owners, because of the hundreds of RX owners that have filled out the Consumer Reports owner surveys, very few have reported engine or transmission problems and most report an excellent level of ownership satisfaction. Based on Consumer Reports and JD Powers owner surveys, the RX300 is indisbutably the most reliable / durable luxury SUV on the market and the SUV with the highest level of owner satisfaction. Check out the April 2005 issue of Consumer Reports if you want to see this data.
  5. Your engine will likely keep on running for a pretty long time, but might get more noisy because the finely polished surfaces on some recriprocating metal parts like the valve lifters could have been scored due to the lack of oil for 5 seconds. It doesn't make any sense to inspect for the damage because the cost to fix it would be about the same or more than the cost of a replacement engine. I wouldn't worry unless engine noises become substantially louder than before the oil starvation incident. You have an Asian car that was designed to be exceptionally reliable and durable if maintained with Asian (genuine Toyota) replacement parts. Asian car owners who use auto parts store filters and other aftermarket replacement parts risk damaging or ruining their engines, transmissions and other components in subtle ways such as you experienced. Mobil is constantly changing the names of their oils to maintain public interest and enthusiam for their products. Mobil's "5000" oil is merely a new name for their lowest priced grade of dinosaur oil.
  6. The RX300 engine and transmission are very durable, but more sensitive to the consquences of maintenance neglect than the LS400 engine and transmission. So when shopping for a used RX300, it is very important to review service records. Buying a "Lexus certified" model is no substitute for personally verifying that oil changes were never extended beyond 5000 miles and that the transmission fluid was changed at least every 30,000 miles. All wheel drive models need even more frequent transmission fluid changes. Some non-mechanically inclined owners wrongly assume that a Toyota that is sensitive to the consquences of maintenance neglect is "weakly engineered" and should be avoided. Due to their lack of mechanical experience with Toyotas, these owners are not aware of the stunning durability capabilities of Toyota mechanical components always bathed in clean lubricants and coolants http://www.saber.net/~monarch/460k.jpg Also due to their lack of mechanical experience, these same owners are not aware of how American car mechanical components are intentionally designed to wear out rather quickly no matter how clean the lubes and coolants. So Toyota / Lexus owners who switch to an American brand end up being dissappointed again. Basically these owners are caught up in a revolving circle of automotive poverty and they will not break out of it until they switch back to an Asian brand and change the drivetrain lubes and filters regularly and more frequently than the intervals suggested in the Maintenance Guide since those intervals are merely MINIMUM ALLOWABLE intervals, not intervals condusive to obtainsing hundreds of thousands of miles of troublefree service.
  7. Measure the amount of old coolant drained so you'll know exactly how much new coolant is needed. If you don't measure there is a danger you will underfill the system and harm the motor. In a separate container, premix a 50/50 blend of Toyota Long Life Antifreeze and distilled water and add it to both the 17mm coolant filler nut opening above the thermostat housing and to the radiator overflow jar opening.
  8. Toyota antifreeze is red / pinkish. Havoline Dexcool and Prestone Dexcool are orange with a rather radically different chemistry. So you should get rid of all the orange by removing the block drain plugs. Also a good time to change the thermostat and thermostat gasket
  9. Depends on what coolant is currently in the system. If the factory original coolant mixture (50% Toyota Long Life Antifreeze + 50% distilled water) was used by the previous owner at replacement time, then you can just drain the radiator and refill with this same mixture. However, if an aftermarket brand of coolant has been used in the system then yes the two engine block drain plugs must be removed as different brands are not compatible with one another and also aren't compatible with the factory original coolant mixture. Owner failure to use the factory original coolant mixture at replacement time is one of the leading causes of premature Toyota / Lexus engine failure.
  10. There's a long list of OEM stuff that can increase power, gas mileage, engine reliability, durability, smoothness and quietness: 1. New factory original spark plugs, plug wires, distributor rotors and distributor caps. 2. New factory original oxygen sensors. 3. Check and adjust the clearances on the engine's 32 valves 4. Clean the engine's throttle plate(s) 5. New factory original air filter With regard to aftermarket mods, first ask yourself if you really can afford them? Example: Do you have $1000 already set aside to cover items 1 -5 above? $1000 already set aside for when your starter fails? $1000 already set aside to repair a wide array of fluid leakage points in the power steering system? $1000 already set aside to replace various bushings and mounts? $1000 already set aside to fix the climate control LED display and dash instruments? etc. In other words, if you paid $7,000 for your '93 LS400, you may need as much as another $7,000 to keep it on the road for the next several years.
  11. Any AC Schraeder valve with a BLACK colored cap can be used to charge the refrigerant. Example from an early 1990's LS400 http://www.saber.net/~monarch/acrecharge.jpg Black colored caps are always low pressure valves. Red colored caps are high pressure valves.
  12. I've only seen 1 in about 20 OEM thermostats that were defective. Most of the time the problem is that owners and their mechanics fail to use the correct factory original replacement thermostat, thermostat gasket and fail to install the thermostat correctly because they jump into do-it-yourself work without consulting the factory repair manual. The early 1990's 3VZ-FE engine takes the Toyota part# 90916-03075 thermostat and #16325-62010 thermostat gasket. The factory manual tells how the thermostat should be installed. Typically the "jiggle" valve on the thermostat needs to be aligned in a certain way to assure the cooling system will bleed itself of air pockets which can interfere with proper cooling performance. I don't have a factory repair manual either at the moment so I can't tell you specifically how the jiggle valve needs to be installed.
  13. You can buy and charge R12 yourself for mere pocket change. http://www.saber.net/~monarch/acrecharge.jpg Takes about 5 minutes if you know what your're doing because it just like filling a tire with air. Search the AC archives for more details
  14. The ES300 forum is full of early 1990's owner reports of overheating and cooling system related engine failures. Not one report has involved an owner that had used the factory original coolant mixture at replacement time (50% Toyota Long Life Coolant + 50% distilled water). The reason for that is the factory coolant mixture has the capability of keeping the cooling system immaculately clean, free of corrosion and performing like new for many decades. Green coolant cannot do that, not even when mixed with distilled water, although using distilled water will slow the rate of system deterioration.
  15. Different owners will have different opinions on what constitutes good service. For example, I know of one person on this forum who thought it would be great if car repair shops tried to save their customers some money on air conditioning service by: * subsitituting hardware store quality "O"-ring seals in the air conditioning system instead of using genuine Toyota seals. * Not replacing the receiver-drier of the air conditioning system when performing a R12 to R134a refrigerant conversion as is required by the Lexus Factory Repair Manual * Not evacuating the air conditioning system using a vacuum pump during the process of converting from R12 to R134a as is required by the Lexus Factory Repair Manual * Using an aftermarket brand of refrigeration during the process of converting from R12 to R134a instead of the Densoil #8 as is required by the Lexus Factory Repair Manual Other Lexus others would be appalled at the thought of a shop cutting corners in this way by using servicing procedures and products that are not Toyota / Lexus approved.
  16. In your dry Sacramento climate Toyota brake rotors, calipers and other parts will last for 30+ years without rust / corrosion type problems like they have back in the Northeast USA. So whatever you do, bear in mind it is just for cosmetic appearance purposes, not brake safety and reliability purposes.
  17. Always use what the owners manual recommends: All Toyota owners manuals from 1972 - 2005 recommend Dexron auto trans fluid for the power steering system, not products labeled power steering fluid. If the fluid is never changed, eventually the filter screens in the power steering system will clog like this http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mast...ch/psscreen.jpg While dealers can be trusted to use genuine Toyota parts, they cannot be trusted to always use genuine Toyota lubes and fluids. Example: some dealers use aftermarket antifreeze and tap water. Here's what happens to the aluminum parts of the cooling system when aftermarket vs. genuine Toyota antifreeze is used: http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mast...ch/coolanta.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mast...ch/coolantb.jpg
  18. By 1999 I think the ES300 V6 had Variable Valve Timing with Intelligence. If so, your engine does not even have an EGR valve. Have you tried cleaning the throttle plate yet?
  19. 52, self employed, animal breeder. '91 LS400 - 104,000 miles Despite being very quiet and smooth riding, I feel just as fatigued after driving this Lexus a few hours as I am in any other Toyota so my initial "Lexus fever" has pretty much waned. I do like it for relaxing medium distance trips, however. '92 Toyota pickup, manual transmission. 460,000 miles. Still my main driver, still reliable, still has a way of making long trips seem short so I keep driving it. I specially insulated the interior to make it almost as quiet as an LS400. '93 Toyota pickup, auto transmission, 71,000 miles. I bought this for the wife and as a backup when my '92 Toyota pickup wears out, but the '92 just keeps on going so this truck hardly gets driven (yet). '89 Toyota Corolla Station Wagon. 241,000 miles. 36 miles per gallon is it's main benefit for those times when California gas prices get near $3.00 per gallon. '74 Toyota Corona Mark II 61,000 miles. My collector car Toyota. Has a small displacement inline 6 cylinder engine that's as butter smooth as a LS400 V8. Drives like a much more modern car. Worth about $3,000 due to the low mileage, extensive dealer service records and excellent cosmetic condition.
  20. I agree with jragosta 45-50 MPH is optimal.
  21. VGR has no problem understanding that all car makers and engineers and dealership service departments agree that any automatic transmission will be more reliable and last longer if always lubricated by clean, unburnt transmission fluid. VGR has no problem understanding that the transmission service frequency intervals listed in car owners manuals are actually just the MINIMUM ALLOWABLE intervals required to keep the powertrain warranty in effect; they are not the optimum intervals required for the owner to achieve maximum transmission reliability and durability. VGR has no problem understanding that for at least 30 years, all car makers who operate in the USA are under heavy consumer marketing pressure to produce cars that require a minimum amount of componet maintenance. Hence, sometimes car makers push the minimum service frequency envelope too far, resulting in componet failures soon after the powertrain warranty has expired. Now in some other countries such as Australia, Brazil and Saudi Arabia to name a few, this consumer marketing pressure to produce a minimum maintenance car is substantially reduced and therefore Toyota and other car makers operating in these other countries freely publish shorter component service interval without fear that it will adversely affect car sales.
  22. In the 60's the owners manuals of nearly every car maker, including Toyota, specified auto tranny fluid changes every 12,000 - 18,000 miles. Owners who followed that advice routinely got 200,000 and even sometimes 300,000 - 375, 000 miles of troublefree transmission service. Owners in those days did not view these frequent oil change requirements as evidence of "a weak design." After having the fluid changed every 15K, RX300 AWD owners can recheck the fluid level themselves if they want to be sure a "gofer" didn't screw up. There's no evidence (so far as I'm aware) the transmission design of the AWD RX300 is bad, only that fluid cooling is not real good, hence the need to change the fluid more often. For legal / product liability reasons I don't think its reasonable to think Corporate Lexus (or corporate of any other car maker) would ever be willing to admit anything is wrong or weak with their transmissions. Hence owners either have to do something to compensate for a known weakness such as fluid cooling (by changing fluid more often) or face the potential consequences (premature tranny failure). The owner' manual statement: "Change automatic transmission fluid only as necessary" is contingent on regular inspections of fluid condition and it appears alot of owners don't realize that. In any case, corporate Lexus has no objection to owners who wish to change their fluid regularly anyway for peace of mind reasons.
  23. What other car maker consistently builds transmissions and engines that last 300,000 - 600,000 miles? We have not heard of any RX300 AWD transmission failure if the owner had changed the fluid every 15,000 miles since the time the vehicle was new. Therefore it's possible the RX300 AWD transmission is capable of lasting 300,000 miles if the owner changes the fluid frequently. Same situation with the V6 engine of the '99- '02 RX300 and '97-'02 Toyota models. Some V6 owners who changed the oil every 3-6 months or 3000 - 6000 miles have now accumulated 300,000 troublefree miles. But some V6 owners who extended oil changes ended up with sludge and a ruined engines in as little as 30,000 miles. Many of the owners who got sludge consider themselves "victums" and have vowed "I'll never buy another Toyota / Lexus product again". Which means they just talked themselves out of buying another 300,000 - 600,000 mile capable vehicle. An alternative attitude is: "I'll buy another Toyota / Lexus product, but this time with the understanding that while all Toyota engines / transmissions have historically been capable of lasting 300,000 - 600,000 miles, some will likely require more frequent lube changes than others to be that durable. Since it is impossible to know ahead of time which ones may need more lube changes, I'll simply play it safe and change the lubes frequently anyway."
  24. Yes, I got that life on OEM pads and rotors. The reason I know having a manual transmission helps alot is because I also have an identical Toyota pickup with an automatic transmission and the pads and rotors on the automatic are wearing about 60% faster than on the manual tranny truck.
  25. After driving on the freeway for 15 miles or more, stop the car, put the transmission in nuetral and pull out the dipstick. Let the fluid drip on your bare hand. Surprise! The fluid isn't hot enough to scald your skin badly (unless maybe if the outdoor temp is over 85 degrees). Toyota automatics come from the factory already engineered to run cool so installing more cooling capability is a waste. Also some owners have ended up with failed transmissions by installing a cooler because the cooler restricted flow, cracks and leaked or the aftermarket cooling hose leaked. The only model that may benefit from an auxillary cooler is the AWD RX300 because the fluid on this model appears to be more prone to becoming burnt due to inadequate cooling capability for some driving situations.
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